Personal Prayer (my poetic response to a world gone mad)
I have tried to reason with people using words, but even my most articulate explanations, no matter how objectively factual, no matter how full of conviction, consistently fall short of expressing why I feel the way I do about current issues in our world.
Last week, I was riding home on the 6 train and I was reading though my Facebook feed on my phone. Post after post was attempting to argue for or against a certain position. People were actually trying to justify the blatant, racist, comments made by a candidate toward a federal judge of Mexican heritage. Then people were trying to deflect blame away from a white, privileged, rapists and toward "hook-up culture."
Comment after comment forgetting the fact that in every political issue we opine on, people-actual human beings- are being either forgotten about, or dehumanized.
Human essence being sacrificed at the alter of the ego.
And then, Saturday night happened. 50 human beings dead. 53 injured.
Human beings were slain at the alter of hate-fueled ideologies that dehumanize and destroy people.
I am out of words. Opinions don't turn back time and save actual people from the atrocities committed by people who believe being "right" is more valuable than the breath of life that resides in the image bearer's of God.
It's times like these when I feel like I understand why King David wrote songs. Sometimes words aren't enough to express the inner most human parts of ourselves. Our longings, our heartbreak, our righteous indignation. Talking, or typing about what churns in our soul is insufficient.
So, I wrote a poem to try to express how I feel about God, people, and a world that has largely lost its way. With the help of the Forefront Manhattan band, I shared it with our church community yesterday. If you missed it, you can check it out in the video.